Saltchuk, a major transportation firm in Alaska, has purchased one of the oil field services businesses of Alaska Native regional corporation NANA.
NANA Oilfield Services distributes fuels, drilling fluids and potable water to camps all over the North Slope. It was the main fuel provider on ExxonMobil's Point Thomson project.
The Point Thomson contract boosted NANA Oilfield's fuel sales to a record high, according to NANA's 2014 annual report. Deliveries of fuel and urea to the North Slope natural gas project helped increase the subsidiary's revenues by nearly $4 million to about $130.2 million.
But revenue decreased by $15.6 million the following year, a reduction NANA said "was related entirely to the decrease in fuel prices." On the upside, the company set a record for the quantity of gallons of fuel sold in fiscal year 2015 and managed to set an earnings record of $5.5 million.
The acquisition of the 36-employee company complements Saltchuk's other fuel distribution company, Delta Western, which offers services to the Aleutian Islands, Western and Southeast Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. The sale was announced Monday on Saltchuk's website.
NANA spokeswoman Blythe Campbell wrote in an email the company is referring all inquiries about the sale to the new owners.
"Expanding services in Deadhorse is reflective of our long term commitment to the state of Alaska and our oil and gas customers," said Brian Bogen, president and CEO of North Star Petroleum, the petroleum distribution unit of Saltchuk.